It's 10 in the morning on a Friday at Surfcore Fitness, a boutique gym in Mid-City, and a 52-year-old woman is following an exercise circuit while her coach observes. The fashion consultant, who is squeezing in a session before work, raises relatively lightweight weights while performing simple movements to generate strength: cup brushes with a 6 -pound -pound weight, then biceps is curly with a weight of 10 pounds.
You would never guess it, but this is the last madness of exercises in action: Call it Ozempic training.
GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy, Ozempic, Zepbound and Mounjaro have helped millions of people fighting type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as throwing weight. The drug class, agonists of the GLP-1 receiver, has existed for two decades as a diabetes medicine. His popularity as a tool for weight loss shot after the FDA approved Wagovy for weight control in 2021.
But these drugs have also created new challenges. The weight loss that they often stimulates with a reduction in lean body mass that includes muscle, which makes people physically weaker. Because GLP-1 drugs send signals to the brain telling people who feel full with less calories, those who often operate in a caloric deficit. That reduced appetite, if not supervised by a doctor, could cause nutritional deficiencies and leave people with less energy for training, says Dr. Martha Gulati, Director of Preventive Cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Then it is more difficult to exercise the necessary intensity to recover the muscle they have been losing.
“Depending on the drug, people can lose between 25% -50% of their lean body mass,” says Gulati.
Which is where LP-1 training enters. The objective of routine is to help patients build and preserve muscle mass by prioritizing strength training on cardio. He often incorporates education around nutrition recovery techniques and after work, helping participants develop new and healthy lifestyle habits to prevent weight gain once they leave GLP-1 medications. During the last year, the hashtags #OZEMPICworkout and #LPG1Training have populated Tiktok and Instagram, and LP-1 training has been promoted in gyms, in blogs and in the YouTube accounts of personal trainers.
Coach Mike Kimani guides his client, Jessica Bunge, in a LMP-1 training at LM Fitness Center in Atwater.
(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
“If fitness professionals do not adapt their approach to people in these medications, then there are risks of [them] Lose functional resistance, bone density, metabolic health. ”
– Josh Mild, CEO of the Fitness Business Association
The Equinox luxury exercise chain introduced a “GLP-1 protocol” in January 2024 and since then has launched it into 80 clubs internationally. Planet Fitness publishes the GLP-1 training guidelines in his blog. Independent gyms in Los Angeles, such as Surfcore Fitness, are promoting LPG-1 workouts on Instagram, “to stay ahead of the curve,” says owner Carlos Sosa. Personal trainers are also entering the trend. The influencer and exercise coach, Chris Ryan, debuted a series of LPG-1 training in its physical conditioning application this month that includes live routines already requested.
“If fitness professionals do not adapt their approach to people in these medications, then there are risks of [them] Losing functional strength, bone density, metabolic health, ”says Josh Mild, CEO of the Minneapolis Fitness Business Association. “So we are seeing a rather fast industry response to compensate for these dangers.”
The beginner's strength training regime is not new. Rather, it has been repaired for a new fitness audience.
“It's only marketing,” says Shawn M. Antent, professor and president of the Department of Exercise Sciences of the University of South Carolina. “We may have to take into account the lack of energy [on the part of GLP-1 exercisers]. But in terms of our general guidelines for resistance training, there really is nothing special in a LPG-1 training. At the end of the day, it is just a resistance training. But that is not sexy. ”
Jessica Bunge uses the shelf for squats during a LMP-1 training in LM Fitness Center.
(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
Anyway, routine seems to be here to stay. About 6% of adults in the US. That is more than 15 million people. With these brand training, Fitness facilities and coaches are courting a new class of consumers.
The trend has had a domino effect on organizations that manage certification programs for physical conditioning coaches. The National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Exercise Council now offer GLP-1 education. The National Exercise Association and Sports Coaches. He debuted a “specialized certificate in GLP-1 exercises” in January that promotes as a “passport for success” for coaches.
Regardless of whether these LPG-1 training are innovative, the promotion of these exercises helps to build a community among those who use drugs, says Eric Durak, a physiologist with headquarters in Santa Barbara who is the author of the NESTA LPG-1 certificate program.
“It's about changing the mentality and lifestyle of people overweight, many of whom have never exercised before,” says Durak. “Some may be people who did not feel accepted by society because they weighed more than 300 pounds. We want to take them to the door, then create a space for them that feel it is more a community than a training center. The coach's work goes above the sets and representatives with this population. It is also about developing relationships. ”
“It's about changing the mentality and lifestyle of people overweight, many of whom had never exercised before.”
– Eric Durak, exercise physiologist
Gyms and coaches are approaching GLP-1 training with different priorities in mind. Some focus on educating customers about nutrition, advising more protein and monitoring macronutrients. Others emphasize the recovery strategies after subsequent work, such as guided stretching, sleep optimization and monitoring tools to monitor muscle mass retention.
Mike Kimani extends to the customer Jessica Bunge after her LMP-1 training at LM Fitness Center.
(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
Equinox's LPG-1 protocol is considered a framework for people who take drugs, one that addresses the training intensity, frequency and volume (how many repetitions), as well as the robust habit training, says senior manager of personal training of the club, Stan Ward.
“When they receive these training, we are also talking about their lifestyle,” says Ward. “Food sources, portion sizes. We help them navigate the food and understand when they feel full. And how to do it in the long term and sustainable. “
In Surfcore Fitness, Sosa is in contact directly with client doctors, he says.
“Doctors are sending people here: 'I'm not going to give you the [GLP-1] Drugs unless they exercise, 'they are told. So I talk to your doctor about what their needs are, the specific drugs that are and the dose, any side effect, in addition to any other health concern, ”says Sosa. “I assure you that my training will address your needs.”
One of Sosa's clients, the 52 -year -old fashion consultant, went to Mounjaro last March and since then has lost 40 pounds, but saw muscle in her triceps and legs decreasing. The LGP-1 training has helped the composition of his body, says Sosa, and his contact with his doctor has given him confidence.
“She feels comfortable to exercise with me, specifically, because I know what her needs are, medically,” he says.
Jessica Bunge does squats with dumbbells during her LPG-1 training.
(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
The LPG-1 training regime at Athletic Club, in the city center, focuses on the side effects of medications, and then adapts training to mitigate them. He associated with Chek Institute, based in San Diego County, to hold workshops for coaches. Now they are careful not to overestimate customers or quickly change the exercises to be sitting at standing positions because the high doses of GLP-1 drugs can cause dizziness. Longer and more intense training can cause greater gastrointestinal problems, such as nausea and stomach discomfort, so coaches focus on consistent and moderately intense training.
“The last thing we want to do is press them too much,” says the director of Laac, Ed Gemdjian. “We want to work them at their level of comfort, and then continue that consistency.”
“I don't feel: 'Oh, my God, do everyone look at my body?' I feel safer [at the gym] now.”
– Jessica Bunge, who lost 30 pounds in Ozempic
Mike Kimani, an independent coach who works at LM Fitness Center in Atwater, says that his LGP-1 workouts are particularly based on data.
“All training is choreographed and timed at a T, personalized where they are losing muscle,” says Kimani. It requires customers in GLP-1 drugs to obtain body scans every two or four weeks.
“It is so we are not guessing. We feel good, but what does that mean, in terms of data? We are looking to track muscle growth, ”he says.
Kimani's client, Jessica Bunge, 37, went to Ozempic in June for diabetes. It had never been a serious exercise: the gym was “an intimidating place,” she says. But he lost more than 30 pounds in the drug, which has changed the game.
“I don't feel: 'Oh, my God, do everyone look at my body?' I feel safer here now, ”she says.
The perspectives in LPG-1 training can vary, but the coaches interviewed for this story emphasized that one thing is the key: strength training to counteract the muscle loss of drugs.
“Ultimately, we are looking for people to create new healthy habits and improve their lives,” says the slight FBA. “You have to start somewhere.”
